MIAMI (AP) — Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time, rallying from an eighth-inning lead to beat the United States 3-2 on Tuesday night after Eugenio Suárez’s tiebreaking double in the ninth.
Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice fly in the third inning and Wilyer Abreu’s home run in the fifth inning off rookie Nolan McLean built a 2-0 lead in front of a roaring pro-Latin American crowd. Meanwhile, left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez and lights-out relievers limited the Americans to two hits through the seventh.
Bobby Witt Jr. walked with two outs in the eighth and Bryce Harper drove Andrés Machado’s second straight changeup over the center-field fence for a two-run homer that tied the score. Harper trotted slowly around the bases and took time at third to greet coach Dino Ebel.
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Luis Arraez walked from the ninth against Garrett Whitlock. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja stole second just before catcher Will Smith’s throw and came home when Suárez doubled to the left-center gap. Suárez spread his arms wide and pointed to the sky at second base as teammates poured out of the dugout to greet Sanoja at the plate.
Daniel Palencia struck out two in a perfect second half to finish a three-hitter and pick up his third save of the WBC, striking out Roman Anthony to end the game. Venezuelans ran onto the infield to celebrate, while the Americans stared as they leaned on their dugout railings.
Despite a heralded roster of stars led by Aaron Judge, Harper and Paul Skenes, the US lost its second consecutive final of baseball’s premier international event and remained without a title since 2017. Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the championship game.
Before a match with political overtonesplayers and coaches avoided discussing the government unrest among the nations, which was increasing The US military has captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. The sold-out crowd at the LoanDepot park was heavily pro-Venezuela, with some American players cheering during the introductions.
Venezuela became the second Latin American country to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. The US took the title in 2017 and lost the 2023 final to three-time champions Japan on the same court.
While the US, Japan and the Dominican Republic received a lot of attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela’s success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball’s opening day last year, the second most from outside the U.S. behind the Dominican Republic’s 100.
Venezuela took the lead in the third inning against McLean and got the start because Tarik Skubal and the Detroit Tigers decided the two-time Cy Young Award winner would only appear in the first round.
Salvador Perez singled on the first pitch and Ronald Acuña Jr. walked with one out. The runners advanced when McLean bounced a curveball, and Garcia followed with a sacrifice fly to center.
Abreu doubled the lead when he drove a fastball 450 feet to center. His helmet fell off as he rounded second and he jumped with excitement as he approached the plate, where he was greeted by a line of teammates.
Rodriguez allowed one hit in 4 1/3 innings before Venezuela turned to the bullpen.
U.S. players had arrived at the loan depot in game-worn U.S. Olympic hockey jerseys, coordinated by outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jack Hughes, who scored the gold medal-winning goal against Canada last month.
In a darkened stadium filled with fans wearing wristbands with festive flashing lights, Judge and Arraez led the teams along the foul lines for the introductions while carrying their countries’ flags.
